How To Deliver A Presentation Millennials Will Love

Many presenters want to know how to deliver a presentation millennials will love. This is an understandable question considering the many differences between millennials and other generations, as well as the rapid rate at which millennials are joining the workforce and rising to important roles within organizations.

If you are also wondering how to deliver presentations millennials will love, this blog post is for you. In the content below, I will cover some stats and facts about millennials and also share some presentation tips and tricks to help you successfully speak to an audience of millennials.

Who Are Millennials?

Millennials were born between the years of 1980 to 1995, making them 20 to 35 years old at this time. The Millennial Generation is also referred to as Generation Y.

The Millennial Generation has become the largest share of the American workforce, surpassing the Baby Boomers who are now reaching retirement age and leaving the workforce.

How To Present To An Audience of Millennials

1. Cut The Commute

If you have the option between presenting to millennials via a webinar or an in-person presentation, seriously consider the virtual option. 41% of millennials prefer electronic communication to face-to-face communication.

The Millennial Generation is the first generation to have access to the internet during their formative years so they are comfortable functioning in a virtual reality. Since millennials are tech savvy there is no need to worry about their technical skills being a barrier to entry. The millennials will have no trouble logging into a webinar and utilizing all of the bells and whistles of the webinar platform.

The question is: can you also properly leverage all of the features of the webinar platform?

If you are not familiar with the features of the webinar platform, take some extra time to refine your virtual presenting skills. For example, if you don’t know how to use the chat features included with your webinar software, practice chatting with coworkers before launching your virtual presentation. If you fumble these technical basics, you might lose the respect of some of your millennial viewers.

2. Be A Helper

When presenting to millennials, put on your helping hat. Millennials are hungry for help with their careers, and they also also have a desire to buy from and work with organizations that are helpful to the community and world. 

In 2011, more than half of millennials were looking for employers with CSR (corporate social responsibility) values that matched their own and more than half would consider leaving their employer if their CSR values whose values no longer met their expectations.

If your presentation topic can be structured in a way that emphasizes tips and tricks for the millennials’ careers, go for it; the millennials will be on the edge of their seats throughout your talk. For example, if you’re giving a presentation about the future of your organization for an end of the year summit, don’t focus solely on the organization’s future, spend a significant amount of time talking about the future of the team and how team members can grow their own futures with the company.

In addition to helping the millennials with their careers, you should also help the community in a selfless way, and then use your presentations as an opportunity to share stories from your not-for-profit projects.

If your organization has not been engaging in community service activities, use your presentation as an opportunity to get feedback from the millennials; you need to learn what causes are closest to their hearts.

Using the example above, if you’re talking about the future of your organization at an end of the year summit, consider ending your presentation with a group activity focused on learning more about the interests and passions of the attendees. Ask the audience to break into small groups to discuss ideas for community engagement in the coming year. At the end of the activity, have each group present their best idea. Try your best to include their suggestions into your plan for the coming year.

3. Get To The Point

Millennials get a bad reputation sometimes. Some people think my generation of workers are lazy, however that is not the case. Millennials want to be successful and they want to be of service to their organization and the world.

It’s not that millennials can’t handle the pressures of work, they simply don’t value working for the sake working. They are results driven, which should be refreshing for organizations. Millennials want to do their job and then enjoy their lives; this mentality is a win-win for everyone involved.

According to a 2014 study, time off from work benefits the individual as well as the organization. Benefits of time away from work include: higher productivity, stronger workplace morale, greater employee retention, and significant health benefits.

The results of a PWC study concluded 95% of millennials prioritize work/life balance when picking an employer. Meetings are known to be a huge time waster for many organizations so keep your presentations short and to-the-point to avoid disrupting attendees’ schedules so much that their other work spills over into their personal time.

Get to the point with your presentation, then let your attendees get back to their to-do list so they can complete their work with enough time to spare for their preferred leisure activities.

Conclusion

If you’re not already presenting to millennials, you will likely start seeing more members of this generation in your audiences soon. Since millennials are different from other generations, you need to customize your presentation materials to match their preferences.

Additional resources:

Millennials at work: Reshaping the workplace

PwC’s NextGen: A global generational study

How To Appeal To Millenials In Your Presentation

Bridging the Generation Gap

Millennials surpass Gen Xers as the largest generation in U.S. labor force

15 random stats about how to market to millennials

The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2015





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